Brief:
Estes Blue Bird Zero upscale; uses 24-inch parachute recovery..

Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero be me first model rocket. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Naturally, me hearties, when I became a BAR, matey, me bucko, I wanted t' clone one. Ahoy! Blimey! A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Nay one t' be deterred, I searched on. T' make a long story short, I found someone through t' internet who would provide me t' plans and fin tracings. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I decided t' do a slight upscale t' BT-60 from t' stock BT-55 size mostly because that is what I had on hand at t' time. I needed 44.5-inches o' tubin' for correct scale. Begad! Blimey! I installed a 24mm motor mount and glued both sets o' fins t' t' lower body tube. I then proceeded t' join t' body tubes. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Everythin' be glued with 30min epoxy. (author’s note: BBZ plans are available on Jim Z’s website, matey, arrr, thanks in part t' yours truly.)

When all t' gluin' was complete, t' entire rocket was skim-coated with thinned Fill ’N’ Finish and sanded smooth. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! I then proceeded t' prime, and paint t' blue section o' t' rocket first. Arrr! After drying, I masked t' blue section and painted t' white section, then clear coat over t' entire rocket. Begad! Blimey! T' decals for this rocket were a challenge. Ahoy! Blimey! I ended up drawin' them myself and printin' them on self-adhesive stock. Arrr! Blimey! T' decals turned out good, and t' finished product looked great!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I prepped t' BBZ for her maiden flight on a D12-3. Ahoy! Avast! I installed t' wadding, ya bilge rat, motor, me hearties, parachute, and set her on t' pad. Begad! This rocket gives a nice, semi-slow, smokey, me bucko, takeoff. Well, blow me down! She went up straight as an arrow — a very stable rocket.. Begad! Ejection was near apogee, arrr, and it recovered with no damage. Begad! After a perfect third flight, it landed on t' neighbors’ roof and slid about halfway down t' roof t' t' gutter. T' BBZ be OK, shiver me timbers, except for some bilge-suckin' shingle rash on t' edges o' t' fins. Ya scallywag! Flight number six would prove t' be fatal. After a perfect boost and ejection, t' chute did nay open due t' bein' tangled on t' shroud lines. Begad! Begad! It crashed on t' asphalt HARD — rest in pieces.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I have t' give both construction and flight five out o' five. Ahoy! Construction be fairly easy, and t' rocket flies very well.